Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Carino.
Hi Shelby, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I never expected my life to unfold the way it did.
Before the podcast, courses, books, and spiritual work, I was simply a teacher trying to navigate life while quietly carrying emotional exhaustion I didn’t fully understand yet. I spent years in public education, doing what many women do — pushing through, surviving, taking care of everyone else, and disconnecting from myself in the process.
Then life began unraveling me in ways I couldn’t ignore.
What started as emotional overwhelm slowly became a deep spiritual awakening that changed every part of my life. Relationships shifted. My nervous system shifted. My understanding of people, energy, communication, and healing completely transformed. There were seasons where I felt like I lost myself entirely — not just spiritually, but emotionally and physically too.
At the time, I couldn’t find conversations that felt honest, grounded, or safe. So much of the spiritual space felt overwhelming, performative, or disconnected from real life. I wasn’t looking to “escape” life anymore — I wanted to understand how to actually live it in a healthier, calmer, more aligned way.
That journey became the foundation for everything I teach today.
I began openly sharing my experiences through podcast episodes, writing, courses, and sessions, not from a place of perfection, but from lived experience. Women started reaching out from all over the world saying they finally felt understood. They weren’t looking for someone who had it all figured out — they wanted someone willing to speak honestly about emotional healing, spiritual awakening, relationships, nervous system exhaustion, forgiveness, boundaries, and learning how to come back home to yourself.
Ironically, one of the biggest full-circle moments in my life was returning to public school teaching after being away for 17 years. I truly believed it was where I was supposed to be next. But after six months, I realized something deeper: there were still pieces of myself I needed to reclaim. Returning to teaching wasn’t a failure — it was part of my healing. It showed me how much I had changed, how sensitive I had become to energy and environments, and how important it was for me to fully step into the work I had spent years building.
Today, I live a much quieter and more intentional life than I once imagined. My husband and I spend more time slowing down, camping, cooking at home, being present, and appreciating simple moments with our tiny twin dachshunds. Healing changed my definition of success. It stopped being about constantly pushing and proving, and became about creating a life that actually feels peaceful to live inside of.
That is the heart behind my work now.
Through The Queen of Total Wellness, my podcast ShelbyRADIO, books, courses, and private sessions, I help women who feel emotionally overwhelmed, spiritually exhausted, or disconnected from themselves learn how to reconnect in a grounded and practical way.
Because at the end of the day, my work has never really been about becoming someone new.
It has always been about helping women remember who they were before the world taught them to abandon themselves.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, and honestly, I think that’s why so many women connect with my work. My journey wasn’t built from having all the answers — it was built from having to live through the questions.
One of the biggest challenges was navigating a deep spiritual awakening while still trying to function in everyday life. When people hear the term “awakening,” they often imagine something peaceful or beautiful, but for many women, it can feel incredibly isolating and emotionally overwhelming. There were periods where I felt disconnected from who I used to be, while also not fully understanding who I was becoming.
I also experienced major relationship shifts, emotional exhaustion, nervous system burnout, and seasons where I questioned everything — my purpose, my identity, my direction, and even my own inner voice. There were moments where life felt like it was pulling apart pieces of me that I had spent years trying to hold together.
Professionally, building a business around deeply personal and spiritual work came with its own challenges. When I first started sharing publicly, conversations around energy, emotional healing, intuition, and spiritual growth were not nearly as common or accepted as they are now. I had to learn how to stand confidently in my voice even when people misunderstood my work or projected their own fears onto it.
Another challenge was learning that healing is not linear. I actually returned to public school teaching after being away for 17 years because I believed it was part of my next chapter. But after six months, I realized I was being shown something much deeper — there were still parts of myself I needed to reclaim, and I couldn’t ignore the work I was truly being called to do. That experience humbled me in many ways because it taught me that growth is not always about forcing yourself back into who you used to be.
There were also practical challenges behind the scenes that many people don’t see — rebuilding financially, starting over in certain areas of life, learning marketing and business ownership from scratch, creating structure around my work, and figuring out how to build a brand that still felt authentic to who I am.
But through all of it, I think the biggest lesson has been learning how to stop abandoning myself in the process of trying to survive.
That’s why the work I do today is so grounded in emotional safety, nervous system support, honesty, and helping women reconnect with themselves in a real and practical way. Because I know what it feels like to lose yourself while trying to hold everything together.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Queen of Total Wellness?
My business, The Queen of Total Wellness, was created to support women who feel emotionally overwhelmed, spiritually exhausted, disconnected from themselves, or stuck in a major life transition. At its core, my work is about helping women come back home to themselves in a grounded, practical, and emotionally safe way.
What makes my work different is that I bridge emotional wellness, nervous system awareness, communication, energetic healing, and spiritual growth together in a way that feels relatable and human. I’m not interested in creating more overwhelm or making spirituality feel unreachable. My goal has always been to make healing and self-awareness feel understandable, supportive, and applicable to everyday life.
Over the years, I’ve created a full ecosystem of support through courses, books, podcasting, and private sessions. One of the things I’m most known for is my 12-course curriculum, which walks women through different areas of emotional and spiritual transformation including relationships, communication, intuitive development, energetic boundaries, self-awareness, and healing emotional patterns. I also host ShelbyRADIO, where I openly discuss topics many women silently struggle with — emotional burnout, awakening symptoms, relationship shifts, identity changes, nervous system overwhelm, and learning how to trust yourself again.
I think what sets me apart most is that my work comes from lived experience, not theory alone. I’m very open about the fact that I’ve had to rebuild myself through adversity, emotional pain, forgiveness, and major life transitions. Because of that, the women who find my work often say they feel deeply seen and understood for the first time. They don’t feel like they’re being “talked at” — they feel like they’re being walked alongside.
Another thing that makes my brand unique is the energy behind it. Everything I create is intentionally designed to feel calming, grounding, and emotionally safe because I know how overstimulated and emotionally exhausted many women already are when they arrive. Whether someone enters through a podcast episode, a course, a book, or a private session, my goal is for them to feel less alone and more connected to themselves.
Brand-wise, I’m probably most proud that I’ve stayed authentic through all of it. I’ve never wanted to build a brand based on perfection, performance, or pretending to have life completely figured out. I wanted to build something real. Something that allows women to exhale.
What I want readers to know most is this: my work is not about escaping life or becoming someone else. It’s about learning how to heal, regulate, reconnect, and create a life that actually feels peaceful to live inside of.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Absolutely. Earlier in my journey, especially during the deepest parts of my personal and spiritual transition, I spent a lot of time reading, studying, listening to podcasts, and searching for answers outside of myself. But over time, my relationship with information changed significantly.
Today, I’m actually very intentional and cautious about what I consume because I’ve learned how deeply information, environments, conversations, and even certain voices can impact the nervous system and emotional energy. Protecting my peace, clarity, and internal regulation has become far more important to me than constantly taking in more content.
The biggest turning point in my life was meeting my spiritual mentor and being trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and the Hawaiian system of Huna. That experience completely shifted the way I understood communication, emotional patterns, consciousness, energy, forgiveness, and personal responsibility. It gave me practical tools that helped me rebuild my relationship with myself and ultimately changed the direction of my life and work.
Ironically, some of the greatest resources that help me live my best life now are actually much simpler and quieter than they used to be. Pilates, being outdoors, camping with my husband, cooking at home, slowing down, spending time with our tiny twin dachshunds, listening to music, and creating space away from constant noise have become some of the most grounding and healing practices in my life.
I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that growth is not always about consuming more information. Sometimes it’s about creating enough stillness to finally hear yourself clearly again.
That philosophy has deeply shaped both my personal life and the work I do through The Queen of Total Wellness today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shelbycarino.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelbycarino/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShelbyCarinoShelby/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thequeenoftotalwellness
